Through its electronic trading system Xetra, Deutsche Börse will assume technological control of Sofia’s stock exchange by organizing trading of 500 securities for 81 Bulgarian participants.

Warsaw’s exchange is at the center of the battle for eastern Europe trading dominance. The Polish bourse, which is 99% state-owned, said last week it wanted a strategic partnership with a large western exchange, having ruled out selling a stake to a rival because of this month’s change in the country’s government.

Ludwik Sobolewski, president of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, said: “There is no timetable for when the Warsaw Stock Exchange is to be privatized. The ownership structure could be better with less state intervention.”

There has been speculation the partnership will be with Nasdaq or NYSE Euronext. Both US exchanges declined to comment.

Sobolewski said: “A couple of large western exchanges have shown interest in creating and initiating co-operation. This is good because this interest was made on the basis of the potential and current performance of the Warsaw Stock Exchange and eastern European markets. The regional market has assets representing high growth potential.”

The Warsaw bourse lists 339 companies with a market capitalization of Pln837bn (€227bn). Its average trading value this year has reached $166bn (€113bn), according to the exchange. It has acquired and partnered smaller exchanges, including an offer to buy a holding in Prague’s exchange last month.

It also became a shareholder in Sibiu, Romania’s monetary and derivatives exchange, and bought a 1.8% stake in Romania’s futures exchange for an estimated $400,000.

It also plans to bid for stakes in the Sofia exchange and that of Ljubljana, Slovenia’s bourse, whose share-trading value this year has reached €2.5bn ($3.7bn), according to the World Federation of Exchanges.

Warsaw has also signed a co-operation agreement with PFTS, Ukraine’s stock exchange, to list Polish stocks in Ukraine and vice versa. Despite the Warsaw exchange’s expansion and agreements with other European exchanges, it wants to retain its regional dominance, while shaking off its state-run image.

Sobolewski said: “We are keen to have a mutually beneficial agreement with a bigger market operator and strengthen and reinforce our regional strategy. This is not to buy protection by combining forces but to help us become the larger base for international investors in this region, without committing to a capital relationship.”